Basic necessities remain costly to many people

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): A woman carrying heavy shopping bags bargains for eggs at Senen market in Central Jakarta. She lost and surrendered at the Rp 6,300 per kilogram set by the trader.

"The price begins to make sense these days. About three or four months ago I had to pay almost Rp 10,000 for a kilogram of eggs," Kurnia, a housewife with two children living in the Matraman area in Central Jakarta, said.

Before the economic crisis that began in mid-1997, a kilogram of eggs cost a mere Rp 2,500.

Although present food prices are still higher compared to those before the crisis, Kurnia said that she felt a bit relieved because they had dropped significantly lately.

"For a housewife like me, it's really difficult to serve the family proper meals because prices remain high while the family income won't rise," she added.

The high prices of basic necessities amaze people because the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has just announced that Indonesia's consumer price index "continued to decline" in September, falling by 0.68 percent thanks largely to a drop in food prices.

In Bendungan Hilir traditional market in Central Jakarta, a housewife who had just bought a kilogram of chili for Rp 2,900 had a similar complaint.

"My husband loves sambal (chili sauce). He feels like something is missing from the menu if I don't prepare sambal," Ani said of her civil servant husband on Friday.

When the cost of chili hit a record high of Rp 10,000 per kilogram several months ago, Ani could not serve her husband his favorite sambal.

"It doesn't make sense if I have to allocate most of my shopping budget only to buy chili," said the mother of one.

Cabai keriting (curly chili) costs Rp 3,700 more per kilogram than regular chili. In July this year, it cost Rp 12,000 per kilogram while prior to the crisis it sold for Rp 3,500 per kilogram.

A chili trader in Bendungan Hilir market, Supangkat, said the declining chili price was possible due to the abundant supply.

"Now is harvest time for chili farmers," the man, who gets his chili from Sukabumi in West Java, said.

But he was not sure when the price level would stop fluctuating.

"You see, it's getting close to the fasting month of Ramadhan and then Christmas and Idul Fitri celebrations. If there's not enough stocks, the prices will rise very quickly again," said Supangkat.

Ramadhan will start in December. Muslims will celebrate Idul Fitri at the end of the fasting month in January.

For rice traders in Jatinegara market in East Jakarta, it is business as usual with no significant increase in customers during the ongoing People's Consultative Assembly's General Session.

Soleh, a rice trader, said the price of rice decreased thanks to the absence of unrest, smooth distribution and adequate supply.

He said he currently sold Pandanwangi rice at Rp 3,900 per kilogram, a decrease from Rp 4,250 per kilogram in July. Prior to the crisis, Pandanwangi sold for Rp 2,200 per kilogram.

"Last year, when there were many riots, food prices, including rice, were very high. A trader could do nothing about it. If there was a large demand and the stock was not enough, the price went up naturally ...," Soleh, who has been in the business for over 10 years, said.

The declining food prices contributed to the decline in Indonesia's consumer price index, which measures inflation.

BPS chief Sugito Suwito said September's deflation, the seventh consecutive month of falling prices, sent the annual inflation level to 1.25 percent.

"The prices of several food commodities, including rice, fell quite sharply in September," he said early this month.

Sugito said cumulative inflation for the first nine months of the year was 0.02 percent, which is the lowest level of inflation over the past 15 years. Indonesia suffered hyperinflation of more than 77 percent in 1998 as a result of the worsening economic crisis.

However, Sugito warned that riots during the upcoming presidential election could affect the distribution system, causing prices to soar.

But amid the decline in some food prices, some commodities, such as meat, are still very much the same in price.

Beef is currently offered at Rp 25,000 per kilogram while in July it was Rp 26,000 per kilogram. In January 1997, it sold for about Rp 12,500 a kilogram.

The city consumes about 150 tons of meat every day. The meat is supplied by local breeders, including those from Greater Jakarta, Bandung and Subang in West Java, Salatiga in Central Java and Surabaya in East Java.

"Although I can buy eggs or chili at lower prices, I still can't afford meat," sighed Ani.